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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A month of wearing the Misfit Shine every day (and night)

I've been wearing my Misfit Shine every day for a month. It's always on my right wrist. I've worn it swimming. I've worn it while sleeping. I've worn it to the beach. I've worn it while traveling.

I now have a month of data on my daily physical activity (or lack of) and this device hasn't missed a single moment. I can look back on the last month and see when I was really good about exercising.

What I really appreciate about the Misfit Shine is that I never have to take it off. I sleep with it on my wrist. When I wake up, it's already on me. I don't have to worry about recharging it since it uses a coin battery that's designed to last 4+ months.

Although the instructions tell you to place the Shine on the iPhone screen, I simply hold my wrist right up to the device and tap the circle with my finger to sync. This way, the Shine stays on my wrist the entire time.

If you've never worn an activity tracker, you'll experience an interesting phenomenon the first time you put it on. You'll feel a sense of obligation to move more. You'll want to move more so that you can see how your physical activity gets measured and displayed on the app. You'll feel more motivated. People will ask you, "what's that on your wrist?" You'll want to have a good story about how you've been exercising more.

So, I'm going to share my progress report from last week:

You'll see that I was very good until Saturday. That's when I was on a plane for 6 hours, so I didn't get to do much walking or running that day. I made up for the lack of exercise on Sunday when I reached nearly 200% of my daily exercise goal.

Wearable self-tracking gadgets like the Shine can be powerful behavior motivators IF you wear it. The key is to find a gadget that you'll commit to wear every day. They are not nearly as useful if you casually wear them periodically or if you forget to wear them consistently. But, if you wear it every day, they can sustain behavior change that can ultimately translate into a healthier lifestyle. They can provide a level of social accountability that will keep you moving and exercising.

The Misfit Shine on my wrist has become a part of me now. It's on me every day because it motivates me to move, exercise, and eat healthier. It may seem a bit sad to think that I need something on my wrist to remind myself to live a healthier active lifestyle, but if it works, then I'm going to continue wearing it.